Family Addition

 We have an addition to our immediate family, and no, not a great grand child either. Last Sunday our daughter was married in Las Vegas - a planned event that only the immediate family knew about. They wanted to surprise the rest of their friends and relatives, which they did. We welcome new son-in-law Earl Beaumia with love. Our daughter, Connie, also thanked  Donald Trump for attending her wedding!! As they stepped outside after the ceremony, President Trump's motorcade passed by, waving at them. What a memory!!!

                                                    congrats to the happy newlyweds

Our CRM Chaplains conference was held this past week in Brownsville. We were able to attend the graduation ceremony and dinner on Friday as well as a tribute to Gary Laird, our board chairman, who passed away recently. Gary was an amazing role model to all Christians as well as CRM chaplains as he lived his faith. His calm and quiet demeanor will be greatly missed, as well as his vast knowledge. We know that he made a huge impact on our lives, as well as on the rest of the chaplains. We also held a short sending ceremony for the two new chaplains, sending them out to preach in their respective parks. It was also great to see the alumni chaplains as they too returned t serve in the Valley, although because of COVID we really do not know how it is a going to work. But God has a plan for us all.

two new chaplain couples in the front - this is not all of our chaplains, but just some who were able to attend. 

Caring Hearts Ministry is going well this week, so we have an abundance for everyone. This last week we received a lot of produce, including strawberries (hooray, wonderful fruit) and even packages of hot dogs as well as more kolaches and Breadsmith bread. We also received two huge jackfruit ( perhaps the largest fruit there is ). It has the flavor of 5 different fruits inside - mango, pineapple, banana, heart of palm, and kimchi. Sort of tastes like paw paw soaked in pineapple juice .They can grow up to 100#. It has the texture of pulled pork. If  a person wants to purchase some from the pulgas (flea markets) here, the cost is over $5 for a orange size piece. If you buy it in a store, one the size of a large watermelon is $25 or so. 

                                               

                                                                    

                                                                       outside of jackfruit

                 

                                                                inside of jackfruit

                                                           boxes of turkey dog packages

We have been brought from the bondage of slavery to the freedom of Christ, just as the Israelites were. We want the voice of God to be louder than the voice of the world. We have religious freedom, granted to us by the 1st Amendment. It is there to protect our civil rights. How does the Bible (the Word of God) speak to us about religious freedom in the world today today?  If you keep track of  the news our freedoms are under attack today. You are not at freedom to speak lies about someone or cause chaos though. The 1st amendment allows us to live as reasonable humans. We need to be free to have a dialogue with others about anything in the world today. Needless to say, everyone is religious, believing in something. Even atheists  have a right to believe that they don't believe. The 1st amendment allows us to have a civilized society. We want to live in an atmosphere of permission not coercion. We cannot force others to be followers of Christ, but try to persuade them to do so. We live in a cancel culture - when someone disagrees with someone else they try cancel their beliefs ( being a bully). It is a cowardly approach which undermines what our country was established for. This is not the kind of world we want. The more visible your social status is, the more you become a target in our cancel culture. We need to come together and respect each other beliefs and thoughts. If we try to live Christian lives, we really go against the world culture. In order to save the church, prayer is a priority. Our general prayer should be that the gospel is for all people. Our specific prayer should be for leaders and all those in authority. They make decisions that make a huge impact in out lives. We want and deserve good government. We want to live out our faith in peace and quiet. Prayer paves the way for salvation for others. God delights in us when we share the truth. Pray that we continue to have the environment to be able to continue to do this. We believe in the Word of God - the only way to Him is through Jesus Christ. Find your hope in Him. We pray for the right to proclaim this.  Read I and II  Peter to see the way to do this. We need to proclaim this with courteousness and respect. As we stand up for what is right, be sure to use a Godly tone.   

A New Experiece

 We have been working with the colonias for many years now but experienced a new adventure on Friday. It has rained before, and we have canceled the day before because of muddy and flooding conditions. This Friday we arrived at Border Missions in a sort of cloudy and very slightly drizzly atmosphere. As we were getting ready to load it started poring rain - this has never happened before! We were able to back into the warehouse and load in the dry area, Because of the downpour, the roads in the colonias were flooded as well as the area where we distribute, so we had to cancel at the very last minute. I understand a few folks showed up but there was no one there. We returned home with everything we had loaded - luckily the weather was cooler so we could just park under the car port until Saturday morning. We then notified everyone that we would be there to distribute despite the wet and soggy boxes of produce! Our amazing helpers showed up and we began unpacking, often stopping to pour the water from soggy boxes. We did receive some extra food from a park resident, so we were able to provide a decent amount of food, as the supply seems down the past couple of weeks - perhaps due to the in-between season here in the Valley. Our CRM conference starts next week and some of the chaplains are bringing donations of beans and rice - the Lord always seems to provide. 

The CRM Conference will be a bit sparse this year, as many of the chaplains will be attending virtually due to the fact that their parks are not open yet, some of them not allowing any activities in the halls. Some chaplains are being very creative, holding outside services at their site to folks on golf carts or those bringing their own chairs, wearing masks and social distancing. Almost all of them also offer an online service. It is going to be a very different season here in the Valley, but I am sure everyone will find interesting ways to worship. After all, the disciples held services under the trees and outside in temple squares. 

The position of ladies in the church in present times has changed dramatically from early times. The legal and social status of women has fluctuated. Women were persecuted just because of their gender - even today in many countries women are considered less than animals. We are so lucky to live here in America where women are allowed (even encouraged) to become whatever they want - the sky is the limit, as in the current status of the current Supreme Court nominee. In the civilized world, women since the 18th century have experienced universal education and the right to vote. In the Christian realm of the world they have proved equal to men in achievements in education, art, literature, social services, and missionary work. God fearing wives and mothers have proved to be be vital factors in the spiritual elevation of our whole nation. Immoral behavior and the ever increasing divorce rate calls for us women to intercede along with God to again raise womanhood to its noblest heights which He originally intended for all daughters of Eve. 

We need to develop a positive view of government today. God honors good government. God establishment 3 things that are under attack today - family, church and government. Police officers are deeply involved in government and community - often making decision of government laws over emotional feelings. They not only write tickets and enforce the law, but we see them out there assisting in changing tires, helping the young and elderly, being involved in community affairs, etc. They are loyal, hard working servants God and for people of the community. Pray for law enforcement during this election that we have a peaceful election. God protect our officers as they protect us by helping to maintain the laws of our government.

How do you live as a dual citizen - as a citizen of the kingdom of God and the kingdom of the United States? How do we live as citizens of both? " Let everyone be subject to government authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted and those who do so will bring judgement on themselves." Romans 13:1-2 is God's view of government. Our goal during this election is to be Biblically correct. It is God who establishes authority. He is in control. Any power given to officials have been given to them by God. God wants us to be submissive to the government - to be humble out of respect to the office.  Have respect not rebellion as God delegates authority. God established government to be a servant for Him - to punish evil doers in order to maintain order. God wants us to live under good government. Pray for all of those in authority that we many live in peace and quiet. How to we respond to government? We need to submit to authority because of our conscience . We need to honor authority - not from fear of being caught but because of our conscience. "For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. Live as free people but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil, live as God's slaves. Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor (leaders). 1 Peter 2:15-17. This does not speak against injustice. We need to vote - it enhances our ability to change the world. We can help by changing the tone in which we engage with others - speak the truth with grace. Share what we believe in respectful ways. Is there a time to stand up against the government? It would be in the  matters of worship - who and how we worship. Worship God alone. We stand for the American flag and all the values it stands for, but we kneel before God and only God. Bow our knee to God but stand for the flag. We need to stand on Christian morals and continue to witness for Christ. When there is a clash between Government and Christ, where do you stand? We stand strong for Christ. 

 

de'ja' vu

 De'ja vu is the feeling of having already experienced a present situation. That is the feeling I had as we distributed this Friday in the colonias. We really did not have a full load of food this last Friday, but enough to fill 60+ boxes of food. But we did have 2 full bags of donuts!!! Yep, I was against the donut bag lady. Tuesday distribution was good, even including loaves of bread from Breadsmith, as well as can of a soda of some kind, bottles of water, and lots of lychees.  Everything seemed almost back to normal, except the fist bumping instead of hugs and wearing masks so that we could not see the smiles on everyone's faces. But as we looked closer we could see the sparkling eyes of love and appreciation. 

We received an amazing donation of little girl dresses (14 of them) and on closer inspection discovered that the skirts and pockets we  made from men's shirts. They are so adorable and rightly colored. Many thanks to the lady who took the time to fashion them.

                                                             

                                                               cute as can be

In a few previous blogs I talked about women and their place in Bible history. Today we are going to explore the place of women in New Testament times - the time after the resurrection. Matthew  expounds on the purity of women (5:27-32). What an understanding and sympathy he had for women!  Jesus also had a reverence for women. The fact that He himself was born of woman seems t prove His respect was well grounded. A new era was on the horizon for women and their place in society. Form His beginnings on earth, women the women were instinctively  responsive to Jesus' teachings and seemed to be devote to Him. A new dawning for the position of women seemed to be approaching.            

Just when everything in this world today feels like hate and distrust, someone comes along and renews our faith in humanity. A small thing -  like a twinkle in a eye indicating a smile, holding the door for you, etc. Saturday it happened to us as we were waiting in line to get gas at Cosco. The lines were fairly long, so when a car drove off at the the nearest pump (there were 2 pumps in each lane) a car in front of us drove up and just waited a minute or so. It seems the car in front of him was almost finished fueling, so he waited so that he could drive up and allow us to use the nearest pump. Fred took the time to thnk him and he replied that it was ok - he just wanted to be polite!!!

Racial reconciliation reflects the heart of God. It is not the actual gospel, but the fruit of the gospel. God wants ALL people to be saved. AS a child I was raised in Chicago where, in my mind, there was no racial or ethnic division. Our neighborhood had many different nationalities and we all played together without a thought of who was German or Italian or even Irish. We were a group of ragtag kids who had not a care in the world except that fact that we did not want to miss the ice cream man. I just naturally accepted the fact that when we went shopping in the big stores in the Loop that we had to put a dime in the stall in the women's restrooms in order to use that particular stall, giving no thought to the fact there were some stalls that did not require a dime. Those were the ones which were not cleaned after each use. I took no notice of who used the "free" stalls, but now I realize that discrimination was being practiced. I did get into trouble once by holding the door open for someone to enter without paying. After we moved to a small town Wisconsin where there were no other folks around except Caucasians (this was in the early 50's), I really did not realize it as I myself had no distinction between races. My father owned a small cafe in a high tourist area where people form Chicago and Southern Wisconsin came to their cottages to enjoy the lakes. A large car pulled up in front of the cafe, a gentleman got out and opened the door for another man, then settled back into the driver's seat as the man entered the retaurant. My father asked the man if his driver was coming in also and the man replied, "Oh, can he come in - he is black". My father invited the driver in to eat - that was really my first understanding of prejudice. There was a racial divide during the time of the Lord between the Jews and Gentiles. The Gentiles were to be avoided at no cost. Jesus tried to bring a unity together for them. Only one God for all - we all can be one in Christ. Racism has been going on for a long time. It is the discrimination of people by the color of their skin or origin. It is the notion that one is superior because of how they were born. Human atrocities of the world were based on racism - the Civil War, the Holocaust, Rwanda and many others. The basis of our country, the Declaration of Independence, states "we hold these truths to be self-evident, that ALL men are created equal, that that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” We are all created in the image of God, being able to share in all of the unalienable rights. Racism can be against any group. However, the highest racial divide in this country is black/white. For over 240 years the black community had been slaves to the white community - what a standard to overcome! Many of these issues are evident yet today. It is hard to fathom, but there are groups who want to keep this division alive today. We have one ancestor - Jesus, one problem, sin, and one hope, Jesus. Look into your own heart and see not the skin issue but the sin issue , look up and see God's perspective, look out and build bridges so we can demonstrate the love of God to everyone. As a friend said so eloquently, "God, give me the courage to budge whenever you nudge me". Work today to end the prejudice surrounding you. 

Back on Track

Caring Hearts Ministry seems to be getting back on track, as best we can during this Covid epidemic. On Tuesday we delivered produce enough for 35 families ( our smaller distribution) and on Friday our faithful, wonderful ladies showed up to help with the big distribution. In addition to the normal produce, we also had 25 boxes of surplus donations containing 1 Gal. of milk!, cream cheese, mozzarella cheese, salsa, apples, potatoes, and sour cream, as well as flatbread and kolaches.  What a blessing. As some of the kiddos are homebound, doing their studies on line, the milk, apples, and kolaches will be a great snack to keep them alert and ready to learn. We also discovered that during the hurricane, part of the rear roof of the shed was damaged - about $200 worth of material needed to repair it. The men in the colonias will do the labor and CHM donated funds ( thanks to many of you for your donations) to help rebuild the roof. In the picture, the lady to the left of Fred is Magdalena. She and her husband (on the right in front) have stepped up to head the distribution as our Ida is busy homeschooling her grandchildren for now as their parents work to support the family. Every time we distribute, Magdalena brings us breakfast - I am assuming that is what the family has had for breakfast. Magdalena and Jose are raising their grandchildren, as well as being very involved in the ministry. 

                    This picture is from Tuesday - our smaller distribution - I forgot to take a picture of the                                  abundant produce and food we received on Friday. Masks and social distancing. 

The weather has again been cooler and less humid which really helps. Hopefully we will have normal fall weather here in S Texas for the next few weeks. 

We still have our place here for sale, as we are still convinced the Lord is calling us back to Arkansas - we really can feel that right now we are getting to the age that we need to tone down the physical part of ministry. We will continue to work in ministry in Arkansas, but in a less physical manner. Please pray that if it is God's will, he will release funds to the folks who want to buy our place and make it possible for them to purchase it. The Winter Texans that are planning to return to the Valley this fall (many of them are holding off for awhile, or canceling their plans until next year) will decide to buy this year!

Pastor Vance has chosen to preach about the Biblical stand as far as voting is concerned. He does not tell us how to vote, only preaching what the Bible says about living in this world today. Don't you wonder what the historians write about the year 2020 50 or 100 years from now? What a year it is. Our church in today's culture is caught in the tension of grace and truth. We have to speak truth in a loving way. "Woe to those who call good evil and evil good. who put darkness for light and light for darkness. and who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight". Isaiah 5:21-21. We are faced with our own culture today as we try to be Biblical correct. "Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind". Romans 12:2. We have a constant pressure today to conform to the world we live in today. It is our duty to hold to the morals of Christianity. For this reason, Christianity today does not seem to be Biblically correct. Are we the ones who are crazy or wrong?? God says His word will not pass away.  The courts of our land are being used to change the culture of our country. All laws come from someone's moral code. In reference to abortion, our culture today is far from the Biblical view and the sanctity of life. God says in Deuteronomy that we need to choose life because it pleases the Lord. Life is a gift from God. At 3 weeks a fetus has a heartbeat - a living being. Fetus is just a technical word  - a fetus is a human bring. We all need to work for legislation that eliminates abortion on demand. Work to develop laws to protect the unborn. Abortion is not about birth control but the protection of human life. As we vote, the abortion issue is very important as it shows the value of the political party. Courts can make abortions legal but the churches looks at them Biblically. We need to allow men to become a partner in pregnancy Too many times a woman or her parents or advisors lead her to the abortion decision without any input from the father. 4 out of 10 women who have has abortions attend church - although many of them who attend are living with guilt and regret and do not know who to confide in. We have to change the atmosphere of how we treat unwed mothers. One way is to Embrace Grace  (there is an organization in NW AR by this name which helps these pregnant girls). Offer them help and love, pray for for them as they often have no means of support - .provide for their needs. Abortion is a response to panic, a split second decision because they feel they have no other place to turn. Let the church be the place for them. It is hard to believe, but statics show that 43% of women have had an abortion by the time they are 40, an astounding percentage. We need to speak the truth and stop abortion. We pray we can become a civilized country for the sanctity of life. 

Continue to pray for all of those affected by Covid, especially our president and first lady, as well as all of our elected officials.